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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369334">Awakening</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/umbralillium/pseuds/umbralillium'>umbralillium</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I can't escape this now [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:06:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,895</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/umbralillium/pseuds/umbralillium</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yennefer wakes and Geralt and Jaskier's relationship is on the mend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon &amp; Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia &amp; Jaskier | Dandelion, Tissaia de Vries &amp; Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Triss Merigold &amp; Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I can't escape this now [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639681</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Awakening</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This has been sitting half-finished on my computer for <i>months</i>. Thanks to <a href="https://umbralillium.tumblr.com/post/631908955331919872/roundrobin-love-and-larks-and-white-wolves">this meta post</a> on Tumblr and writing sprints, the second scene was finally jumpstarted yesterday.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yen woke with a groan. She heard a skitter of movement and opened her eyes, only to wince away from the light.</p>
<p>“She’s awake!” an unfamiliar voice called, and she groaned again, pressing a hand to her head. “Sorry,” the person murmured.</p>
<p>Squinting her eyes open, Yen peered at the girl beside her bed. She was blonde with bright, curious, yet haunted, green eyes. A worn blue cloak was wrapped tightly around her small form.</p>
<p>“Hi,” the girl said shyly.</p>
<p>Before Yen could reply, a familiar tall, dark-clad form stepped into the room. “Yen.”</p>
<p>“Geralt,” she replied, her voice barely more than a croak. She coughed to clear her throat as Geralt ducked his head into the hallway to speak to someone.</p>
<p>“Ciri,” the girl offered with a faint smile.</p>
<p>Yen tried to peer into Ciri’s mind but winced at a flare of pain. When she opened her eyes again, Geralt was standing behind the chair Ciri was sitting in. She looked between the hand resting on Ciri’s shoulder and Geralt. “Your Child Surprise?” she asked, a wealth of emotion in her still-hoarse voice.</p>
<p>He hummed and nodded.</p>
<p>She snorted wryly. “As loquacious as ever,” she said.</p>
<p>“As charming as ever,” a new voice quipped, and Yen looked to the door to see Jaskier standing there with a pitcher and a cup.</p>
<p>“Jaskier,” she greeted coolly.</p>
<p>“Yennefer,” he replied, his voice just as cool as hers. He crossed the room to set the pitcher on a table by the bed and to hand off the cup to her. Task completed, he stepped back to Geralt’s side.</p>
<p>She watched the mismatched trio as she drank, wrinkling her nose at the taste. Not plain water, then. Stopping at Jaskier’s clothes, she frowned. “Isn’t that a bit shiny even for you?” she asked.</p>
<p>He didn’t even look down as he smiled at her a tad too widely. “It’s all I had to hand when I saved your arse.”</p>
<p>She raised an eyebrow skeptically. “You?” she scoffed. “Taking credit for Geralt’s work now, bard?”</p>
<p>Geralt shook his head as Jaskier sputtered indignantly. “Jaskier reached you before I arrived,” he informed her.</p>
<p>“I damn near drained my own magic healing you, I’ll have you know!” Jaskier finally gathered himself to retort.</p>
<p>Yen’s other eyebrow rose. “You? Magic?”</p>
<p>“Sorcerers aren’t the only ones who can wield magic,” Jaskier reminded her derisively.</p>
<p>“Jaskier,” Geralt warned lowly.</p>
<p>Jaskier snapped his mouth shut on any further retort before turning and heading for the door. “Come on, Ciri, you really don’t want to be here for their reunion.”</p>
<p>Ciri looked to Geralt who nodded towards the door and released her shoulder. She stood and hurried after Jaskier.</p>
<p>Shifting, Yen propped her pillows against the wall at the head of the bed and sat up, wincing again at the renewed pounding in her head. She frowned when Geralt didn’t move to help her, he simply stood there, arms crossed.</p>
<p>“Drink,” he reminded her when she was settled again. “Triss added a tincture to the water to help with the pain and your depleted magic.”</p>
<p>She ignored him in favor of asking, “Jaskier really saved me?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Geralt answered shortly.</p>
<p>“<em>How</em>?”</p>
<p>“That’s not my story to tell,” he replied, meeting her baffled gaze.</p>
<p>After the previous spike of pain from trying to read Ciri, she held back the urge to do the same to Geralt. She huffed and drank more. “Like he’s going to tell me how he did it.”</p>
<p>A bare hint of a smirk tugged at his mouth. “That’s for the two of you to sort out.”</p>
<p>She scoffed but didn’t reply. An awkward silence fell between them. “How long was I unconscious?” she finally asked.</p>
<p>“Four days,” he answered, still watching her.</p>
<p>She stared back at him. “Fuck.”</p>
<p>“Hmm.”</p>
<p>A knock sounded at the door and Yen looked over to see Tissaia standing in the doorway.</p>
<p>Geralt nodded a greeting to her as he turned from the bed and walked to the door. Tissaia moved past him, followed quickly by Triss. He closed the door as he left the room.</p>
<p>“Welcome back,” Triss said briskly, sitting on the edge of the bed while Tissaia took the chair.</p>
<p>“I’m glad you both survived,” Yen replied, looking between them.</p>
<p>“How do you feel?” Tissaia asked, leaning forward slightly in her chair.</p>
<p>“Tired, sore, and I have a massive headache,” she answered honestly.</p>
<p>“I should say so,” Triss said, checking Yen’s cup before refilling it. “I want you to finish that pitcher by nightfall.”</p>
<p>Yen glanced out the window and saw it was a couple hours past noon. She nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“What do you remember, Yennefer?” Tissaia asked.</p>
<p>“Releasing my chaos,” Yen replied, closing her eyes as she remembered the conflagration that had spread from her hands. She frowned as she remembered the taste of blood. Reaching up, she wiped at her face. No blood.</p>
<p>“We cleaned what blood there was when we brought you here,” Triss informed her.</p>
<p>“And where is here?” Yen asked, glancing around for the first time.</p>
<p>“A merchant’s home near Sodden,” Tissaia replied. “Do you remember anything after that?”</p>
<p>Yen closed her eyes again, searching her memory. “I remember the fire,” she murmured. Something teased at her memory. “Then there was…cold?” She frowned, opening her eyes. “That doesn’t make any sense!”</p>
<p>“When the Witcher and I found you,” Tissaia began. “The bard was already there. There was fire and ice all around you both.”</p>
<p>“Fire <em>and</em> ice?” Yen asked incredulously.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Tissaia answered. “So far, the bard has given no explanation for how the ice got there, nor has he explained why it didn’t melt from the flames.”</p>
<p>“Have you heard of such a thing?” Triss asked Tissaia.</p>
<p>“Nothing verified,” she answered, shaking her head. “But some of the oldest texts in Aretuza’s library speculate that dragon ice is nigh-impossible to melt. There are even tales that it can encapsulate fire.”</p>
<p>Triss and Yen stared at Tissaia for a long, silent moment before Yen broke into laughter. “Are you telling me you think Geralt’s little songbird is a <em>dragon</em>?” she asked through her peals of laughter.</p>
<p>Tissaia gave Yen her familiar scolding stare. “You didn’t see that battlefield,” she reminded Yen. “Can you give a reasonable explanation for I saw there?”</p>
<p>Restraining the last of her laughter, Yen shook her head. “Perhaps you were hallucinating.”</p>
<p>Tissaia sighed, shook her head, and stood from the chair. “I’ll leave you to your rest.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Yen said softly as Tissaia walked away.</p>
<p>Tissaia paused and looked back at Yennefer long enough to give a nod of acknowledgement before leaving the room.</p>
<p>Once Tissaia was gone, Triss turned to Yen. “Now then, how are you feeling?” she asked briskly.</p>
<p>Yen groaned and slumped back against her pillow, resigning herself to Triss’s examination.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Jaskier couldn’t help growling to himself as he paced in the yard outside the house, kicking a rock hard enough to ricochet off a tree. He should be used to being underestimated by now. It was the image he had so carefully crafted since taking human form. He hadn’t even flown since meeting Geralt in Posada twenty years ago.</p>
<p>Maybe that was why Yennefer’s dismissiveness rankled so badly. Being his <em>true</em> self again had reminded him just how powerful he really was. Absently, he reached up and scratched at the back of his neck, nails catching on the line of silver scales hidden by his hairline and collar. A shiver rolled down that same line. His scales hadn’t been touched in so long.</p>
<p>Feeling eyes on him, he turned to find Ciri perched on the fence with Geralt leaning beside her, arms crossed. “Your kind are very good at fooling even a Witcher’s senses,” Geralt observed.</p>
<p>“Defense mechanism,” Jaskier replied. “<em>Your</em> school may not hunt dragons, but there are others who do.”</p>
<p>“Griffins.”</p>
<p>Jaskier dipped his head in a short nod. “Just so.”</p>
<p>Geralt looked away, frowning into the distance. “For someone who talks so much, you don’t say much.”</p>
<p>Jaskier shared a baffled look with Ciri. She nudged Geralt in the shoulder with her knee. “What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“I’ve traveled with Jaskier for a long time, but there’s nothing of <em>substance</em> I know of him,” Geralt answered.</p>
<p>A snort escaped Jaskier. “Fillingless pie?”</p>
<p>Geralt’s eyes crinkled in a brief smile. “Just so,” he echoed. “You dig and pick at my story and spin it into songs. But I know nothing of you.” He took in a deep breath. “Is that all I am to you? A source for your music? A meal ticket?”</p>
<p>“No!” Jaskier denied, striding forward even as he shook his head. “I have never lied when I claimed myself your very best friend.”</p>
<p>“But am I <em>your</em> very best friend?” Geralt replied. “I was not lying when I said <em>I</em> am not <em>your</em> friend.” A nasty smirk played at Geralt’s lips. “For one so obsessed with words, you don’t listen to them very well.”</p>
<p>Jaskier puffed up in offense, feeling his scales rise as if to make him bigger, as they would in his dragon form. Catching Ciri’s disappointed gaze, he paused, thinking on Geralt’s words. Jaskier had left Geralt very few secrets over the years, yet hoarded his own like…well, a dragon. Sighing, he deflated, turning to pace away, pulling at his hair in distress. “I’m sorry I have made you feel so, Geralt.” He didn’t turn as he spoke, not wanting to see Geralt’s expression. “I <em>do</em> consider you my very best friend in the whole wide world.”</p>
<p>“We’ve both made mistakes,” Geralt allowed from just behind Jaskier. He yelped and spun to face Geralt, scowling theatrically at Geralt’s smirk and Ciri’s giggle. “I’m sorry, as well, for what I said on the mountain. Destiny’s fuckery isn’t your fault, you were simply there.”</p>
<p>“Not ‘simply’,” Jaskier protested.</p>
<p>“Hmm,” Geralt hummed in agreement.</p>
<p>Jaskier huffed. “Oh, <em>now</em> you run out of words. Used up your quota for the rest of the year, have you?”</p>
<p>Ciri giggled again while Geralt looked away, but not before Jaskier caught the edge of a smile in his eyes.</p>
<p>She hopped off the fence and walked over to tug lightly at Jaskier’s sleeve. “May I see?”</p>
<p>“See what, cub?” Jaskier asked, smoothing loose strands of hair behind her ear.</p>
<p>She looked around, not at <em>all</em> subtly. “You <em>know</em>. Your <em>other</em> self.”</p>
<p>Jaskier bit back a laugh. <em>Definitely need to give her lessons in being sneaky</em>, he thought. “Not here, cub. It’s too open.”</p>
<p>Ciri deflated, a hint of a pout pushing her lower lip out.</p>
<p>“Kaer Morhen,” Geralt rumbled beside them, drawing Ciri and Jaskier’s attention.</p>
<p>“Yes? What about it?” Jaskier asked, a hint of hope fluttering in his heart.</p>
<p>“Should be safe up there to transform,” Geralt elaborated. “You could come with us.”</p>
<p>Jaskier bit his lip to stem the tears that wanted to gather. Twenty years and he’d never been to Geralt’s winter home. He nodded. “I’d like that.”</p>
<p>“Just one favor,” Geralt added.</p>
<p>Jaskier eyed him warily, seeing a hint of mischief in his golden eyes. “And what’s that, dear Witcher?”</p>
<p>“If Lambert asks for a ride, drop him into a snowbank.”</p>
<p>A bark of laughter escaped Jaskier even as he nodded. “Done.”</p>
<p>Geralt gave the largest grin Jaskier had ever seen and he felt his heart flip in his chest. <em>Not over that, then. Fuck.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm hoping to write the family at Kaer Morhen, but I make no promises.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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